Dueling eclipses, and more top sky-watching events in January

Ring in the new year with a sparkling meteor shower, a pair of eclipses, and a planet parade.

4 Minute Read

By Andrew Fazekas

PUBLISHED January 2, 2019

The new year starts off with a bang thanks to 2019’s best celestial fireworks show, followed by eye-catching planetary encounters and an eerie wolf moon eclipse.

So, if your holiday haul included new binoculars or telescopes, mark your January calendar and get ready to try out your stargazing gear!

Earth at perihelion—January 3

If you ever thought Earth’s orbital distance from the sun controlled the temperature, this day should convince you otherwise. Earth’s path around the sun is not a perfect circle, and the planet gets nearer and farther from the star over the course of a year.

Earth 101Earth is the only planet known to maintain life. Find out the origins of our home planet and some of the key ingredients that help make this blue speck in space a unique global ecosystem.

At 12:20 a.m. ET on the 3rd, our planet will reach its closest point to the sun for all of 2019. At this so-called perihelion, the two bodies will be just over 91 million miles apart—three percent closer than they will be at their farthest point, or aphelion, in July.

The Northern Hemisphere’s cold temperatures at this time of year actually arise because the planet is tilted on its axis, and this side of the globe is tilted away from our parent star.

New Year meteor shower—January 3-4

View Images

Quadrantid meteors appear to radiate from just below the Big Dipper.

Illustration by A. Fazekas

In the predawn hours of January 4, the first meteor shower of the year, the Quadrantids, will reach its peak. Rates this morning will range from 60 to 120 shooting stars an hour when seen from a dark location. This year, a waning crescent moon should provide ideal conditions for seeing even faint meteors under clear skies.

The meteors will appear to radiate from the northeast sky, just off the handle of the Big Dipper. This is the site of Quadrans Muralis, a constellation that’s no longer recognized by astronomers but which gave the Quadrantids their name. (How well do you know the constellations? Take our quiz.)

Partial solar eclipse—January 5-6

For some lucky sky-watchers, the year’s first new moon will seem to take a bite out of the sun. The partial solar eclipse will begin at sunrise in Asia, starting in China at 7:34 a.m. local time (23:34 UT on January 5) and moving across Japan, Korea, and Russia. Four-and-a-half hours later, it will cross Alaska’s Aleutian Islands at local sunset (3:48 UT on January 6). People in the Americas, Africa, and Europe will unfortunately miss the sky show.

Totality, or total coverage of the moon, will begin at 11:41 p.m. ET on January 20 (4:41 UT on January 21) and will last for 62 minutes. The entire 3.5-hour event—including partial eclipses before and after totality—will be visible from the Americas, Greenland, Iceland, western Europe, and western Africa. Sky-watchers in eastern Europe and eastern Africa will witness only the partial eclipse, while people in most of Asia will not see any part of the sky show.

Stay tuned for our complete eclipse viewer’s guide later this month.

Venus joins Jupiter—January 22

View Images

Look for a close pairing of Venus and Jupiter on January 22.

Illustration by A. Fazekas

Two of the brightest planets visible in Earth’s skies will join forces in a spectacular conjunction at dawn. Hazy Venus and huge Jupiter will appear to be separated by only two degrees, so that the brilliant duo will dominate the southeastern sky. As a bonus observing challenge, look carefully to the pair’s lower right to find the orange-hued stellar jewel, Antares, the lead star in the constellation Scorpius.

Trio of worlds—January 30-31

View Images

Venus, Jupiter, and the moon will form an enticing trio on January 30.

Illustration by A. Fazekas

Early-bird sky-watchers will be treated to a stunning celestial trio at dawn on the 30th, as the waxing crescent moon glides into a tight formation with Jupiter and Venus. By the night of the 31st, the moon will be less than two degrees from Venus. That is about equal to the width of your thumb held at arm’s length, making it a visually striking conjunction not to be missed.